Calzones

Mmm.. Calzones. Calzones bring back lots of memories. I split a calzone for two on one of my first real dates. It was safer than splitting the spaghetti and risking a Lady and the Tramp moment. Calzones were one of the first dinners I made for Kevin after we got married, and probably the first meal I served for our first guest in our first apartment.

I actually picked this recipe up in a speech class in college. We were to give a five minute demonstration as we were speaking and one of the cute college boys demonstrated how to make these calzones. Unfortunately, he never made them for me, but luckily I did come away with the recipe. I figured if they were easy enough for a college guy to make, I could definitely handle it. This recipe is super quick and easy and very, very yummy. It makes enough for 3-4 people. Or two very hungry college boys.

Here are the ingredients…

Spread the dough on a baking sheet.

And roll it out  thin and flat.

Now start adding the toppings to one side of the calzone. I start with half of the browned sausage. Be sure to leave about an inch all the way around for when you close up the calzone.

Then cheese…

And some pepperoni…

A little more cheese…

Then the other half of the sausage…

Then, uh, more cheese…

More pepperonis…

And finally, the last of the cheese.

Now grab the other half of the calzone…

And fold it over.

Pinch the edges together real good.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter and brush it over the top of the calzone.

Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Until it’s all nice and covered in buttery cheesiness.

Put it in the oven and bake at 375 for about 25 mins or until the top is golden brown. Like this:

Look at all that layered goodness.

Now if you happen to have some pizza sauce on hand, which I did, leftover from the Bagel Bites, you can put some in a little bowl for dipping. When the calzones had about 8 mins left to cook, I stuck the little bowl of pizza sauce in the oven with the calzones to let it get all nice and warm. When it came out, I sprinkled it with a little more Parmesan cheese. Yum. And tasty. And easy!

And just like with the Bagel Bites, you can use any of your favorite pizza toppings you want. Mushrooms and Beef? Chicken and green peppers? Sure!

It just so happens that this is one of the first recipe scrapbook pages I ever made too. :)

Note: I’ve experimented with the cooking temperature/times over the years, and have found that the one posted here in my blog works the best. So be sure and use that and not the one on the scrapbook page. :)

Calzones

1 can Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Dough
1 lb Italian sausage
1 pkg pepperonis
2 cups shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375. Brown and drain sausage. Spray a rectangular baking sheet with Pam, and then roll out pizza dough thin and flat. Make layers of cheese, sausage and pepperoni on one half of dough, until desired amount. Fold the other half of the dough on top of the meat and cheese, and press edges together with a fork. Melt the butter and brush over the top of the calzone, then sprinkle parmesan cheese over it. Cook at 375 for 25 mins or until top is golden brown.